Collar support



Feb. 10, 1953 Q, E, Nlc oLs 2,627,605

COLLAR SUPPORT Filed May 1, 1951 INVENTO'R OKEY EJWCHOLS,

BY A

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 10,, 1953 GOLLAR SUPPORT Okey E. Nichols, Charleston, W. Va.

Application May 1, 1951, Serial No. 223,927

7 Claims.

My invention relates to supports or stays for the collars of shirts or other articles of Wearing apparel; and more particularly to devices of this character which will. keep the points of a mans shirt collar in straight position so that the collar will look as if it was freshly laundered even when it is not starched or is moist from perspiration.

The principal object of the invention i to provide a simple and practical device of this character which may be readily applied to the underside of the pointed end or wing of the collar to support at longitudinally spaced points both the fold at the upper edge of the collar and the hemmed lower edge.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a device with means whereby the supporting members for the folded upper edge and the hemmed lower edge may be relativel adjusted according to the shape of the point and the height of the collar.

A further object is to provide a collar point stay or stretching device which is highly eifective in use, easily applied and removed, and relatively inexpensive in construction.

With the above and other ob ects and advan tages in view, the invention resides in the novel combination and arrangements of parts and the novel features of construction hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which show the present preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of portions of a mans shirt and collar showing in dotted lines two of the devices applied to the points of the collar;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the device on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring more in detail to the drawing the numerals l0 and II denote two opposed and adjustably connected members of the collar point stretching and supporting device. In Fig. 1 two of the devices are shown beneath the pointed portions or wings C of the collar which may have its neckband B permanently attached to a man's shirt S or attached by means of collar buttons. F denotes the folded upper edge of the collar and H the usual hem along its lower edge.

The two members or sections and I l are fiat and they are disposed substantially in a single plane so as to lie close to the under faces of the points or wings of the collar. Each member has on opposite sides of its center gripping elements to engage either in the fold or the hemmed edge of the collar to prevent the device from shifting lengthwise of the pointed ends. The two members are angularly adjustable relative to each other so as to move the two collar gripping elements on each side of the vertical center of the device toward and from each other, and thus adapt the device to collars of different heights and with points or wings of different shapes. The construction is such that the longitudinally spaced gripping element of the two members will be under spring tension in all adjusted positions of the members so that the collar point will be held in a straight and stretched position.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention each of the members It! and H is formed of a single piece of resilient stainless stee1 wire, but that is not necessary. Other materials may be used although at least one member must be resilient. The member it which is preferably engaged in the fold F of the collar comprises a central shank l2 in which an eye or opening I3 is formed, a collar gripping portion l4 extending upwardly from the shank and a guide portion disposed crosswise of the lower end of the shank. The portion I4 extends on opposite sides of the axis of the shank and has at least at its ends spurs IE5 which grip but will not perforate the fold F. While the upper member It might be made of plastic, it is preferably formed by bending the intermediate portion of a piece of wire to form the portion 54 which includes a straight top bar I! having at least the two spurs l6 and a lower curved bar 8. The shank I2 is formed by twisting the Wire, the eye I3 being formed between the ends of the shank and preferably close to the center of the curved bar 18. The two ends of the wire are bent outwardly in opposite directions from the shank and are then bent upon themselves to form two loops which constitute the guides H5.

The other or lower member H is preferably formed from a strand of resilient material such as stainless steel wire and is of generally arcuate shape. It has a longitudinally curved central portion 19 extending through the eye I3 and two opposite outwardly diverging end portions 20 which are preferably straight and have at their extremities collar gripping spurs or elements 2|. The latter are adapted to dig into the hem H when the device is applied to the collar as shown in Fig. 1. The curved portion 19 is preferably formed with notches or bends forming seats 22 to coact with the guiding and anchoring eye l3. By sliding the portion [9 through the eye any one of the seats 22 may be engaged with the upper portion of the eye to anchor or lock the lower member H in an adjusted position with respect to the other member Hi. The plane of the eye I3 is preferably at a slight angle to the plane of the two members so that the device will be substantially flat. The two spring ends or arm 29 are disposed in the guide loops I5 which limit the outward or spreading movement of the arms 2%., The spurs 2! are widely spaced as are the spurs I 6, but their distances from each other will vary according to the angular adjustment of the member II with respect to the member Ill. Because of the adjustable connection afforded by the parts It, 22, I5 and 29, the device may be easily applied to collars of different heights and with points of different hapes. While the straight spring arms 29 may be of equal length, one is preferably made shorter than the other as shown. The entire member i l is flexible and resilient and its spurs 2% may be anchored to the hem H at points which will cause the straight upper edge ll of the top member to thrust against the fold F and thus hold the collar wing in a stretched condition. Even if the spurs [6 are omitted, the tension created by the member H will hold the top of the device in proper position in the hem. While the loops i5 limit the spreading of the arms 28, they also guide the movement of the arms toward and from each other and thus tend to keep the two members in substantially a single plane.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the objects of the invention. and while preferences have been disclosed, attention is invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A collar supporting device for use on the underside of the point of a collar between its fold and its lower edge portion comprising a first member having at its top a longitudinally extending collar engaging portion to extend along the fold of a collar and also having a rigid lo er portion extending downwardly from said collar engaging portion between the ends of the latter, said rigid lower portion having an eye, and a second member of resilient material having a longitudinally curved central portion and two integral end portions extending downwardly from said curved central portion and provided with collar gripping spurs, the curved portion of said second member extending through and being shiftably engaged with an inner edge portion of said eye.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said rigid lower portion of said first member is a shank which contains said eye and which projects away from an intermediate part of said collar engaging portion of said first member, together with oppositely projecting guides at the free lower end of said shank and disposed longitudinally of the device, said guides receiving the said end portions of said second member and limiting their movement away from each other.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which the shiftable engagement of the curved portion of said second member includes a longitudinal series of seats on said curved portion, any one of said seats being adapted to receive an inner edge portion of said eye when the device is applied to a collar point to hold the two members in relatively adjusted positions.

1. The structure of claim 1 in which the shiftable engagement of the curved portion of said second member includes a longitudinal series of seats on said curved portion, any one of said seats being adapted to receive an inner edge portion of said eye when the device is applied to a collar point to hold the two members in relatively adjusted positions.

5. A collar supporting device for use on the underside of the point of a collar between its fold and it lower edge portion comprising a first member having an upper portion with a straight edge to engage the fold of a collar, a centrally disposed shank projecting downwardly from said upper portion, an eye insaid shank and oppositely disposed guide loops projecting from the lower end of said shank and disposed in substantially parallel relation with said straight edge, and a second member formed of resilient material and comprising a longitudinally curved central portion with a series of spaced seats and two outwardly diverging spring arms extending from the ends of said central portion and having spurs at their ends to grip the lower edge portion of a collar point, said arms being disposed in and guided by said loops, and said central portion being slidable through said eye to permit any of said seats to receive and thrust against an inner edge portion of said eye when the device is applied to a collar point to retain the two members in relatively adjusted positions.

6. The structure of claim 5 in which said second member is formed from a single piece of resili nt metal wire, the central portion of the wire being bent into generally zig-zag form to provide said seats in said curved central portion.

7. The structure of claim 5 in which said first member is formed from a single piece of resilient metal wire.

OKEY E. NICHOLS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,337,989 Ahrens Apr. 27, 1920 1,345,823 Ahrens July 6, 1920 1,355,798 Zhukofl" Oct. 12, 1920 1,363,381 Antelotti Dec. 28, 1920 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 16,819 Great Britain July 22, 1913 

